This was my first time playing bingo here and first time playing in at least thirty years. Great…read moreset up. The volunteers are pleasant and seek to genuinely enjoy helping everyone get set up to play and help support the church community. Game flow is perfect and the offered food was tasty and reasonable priced.

(This review is not for church services at St. Andrew's. This is a review of their Bingo game.)…read more My husband and I just started to get into Bingo. We've been across the border to a couple Delta locations so far, and really like those venues. Last night we decided to try a local option, not far from home. St. Andrew's runs a Bingo game four nights a week. The schedule is easy to find on their church website. We went for their special double game, Friday Frenzy, which happens only on the first Friday of each month. For being a local game with smaller prizes than places like Delta, the cost to play seemed high. It was $10 admission for 3 boards, another $12 for an optional 6-card supplement, and $1 a piece for single early-bird boards. Plus, to play the late session, another $10 admission, and $1 to $2 a piece for extra boards. So we paid $40 per person to play both sessions, which ran about 3 hours total. At Delta, we pay a few bucks less per person, still play for about 3 hours in one session, have as many boards, and the prizes are bigger. But St. Andrew's is a church, you are supporting a non-profit, so that helps with rationalizing the cost. And the extra optional expense of the second game is only the first Friday of the month. The St. Andrew's hall itself is what you'd expect at a church, a big open space with a mish-mash of folding tables and metal chairs. We arrived about 20 minutes early, which was not early enough. The hall was already packed. We had to roam for a spot, but eventually found somewhere to sit across from each other, and next to some very kind and helpful elderly Bingo-goers. FYI - For the Early Bird, there are already 40 numbers up on the board when you walk in, and you pre-daub your Early Bird boards BEFORE the game starts. So if you plan to play that game, get there plenty early so you have time to find a spot, and time to pre-daub. The callers were clear, but the Friday Frenzy caller was very fast. I suppose they warn you by calling it a "frenzy". We'd definitely play less boards next time for that session. The Frenzy round does have some fun, different games we've never played before. Tic Tac Toe and Holy Kielbasa were quick, silly extra games. Once complaint about the equipment--the big wall boards that were on either side of me and my husband flickered sporadically all night. So it was hard to double-check your numbers. Some of the bulbs are out too, so they can be hard to read even when they aren't flashing. Definitely not ideal. I didn't actually go into the concession area, but my husband came back with a Paula's donut and a Daddio's pizza slice. They were $1.50 a piece. Both were pretty yummy. They run out quick though, and timing of Intermission pizza availability wasn't great. So if you plan to eat at the concession, probably get there early. In the end, we didn't win. Will we go back to St. Andrew's Bingo??? It is close to home, the games were generally fun, the crowd was a spry fun bunch, and they run several sessions a week. But it wasn't the most comfortable or functioning space, it was crowded (nights other than Friday probably aren't as full), the cost to play was high, and the malfunctioning equipment was frustrating. Even so, we'll likely go back since the location is convenient. It was okay, but not my first choice hall so far. (One last side note--I now know the Bingo Bugle newspaper exists!!! Our table-mate told me there was a stack by the door. They are free, and list a bunch of games in the area. We're going to leisurely work our way through some of the options to find our favorite local hall. And hopefully actually win something one of these days, too. #KnockOnWood)